By Don Peter Okoro
Right from when it debuted as Big Brother Nigeria in 2006 (Season 1) to now, when it has became known as Big Brother Naija, this most watched Reality TV Show in Africa has always elicited controversies. There are those who believe that it is part of God’s agenda to empower young people and get talented youth out of the streets and out of poverty. And to use the platform to expose the unfruitful works of darkness, given the fact that the light is beamed on the Participants 24/7 and every hidden or secret aspect of their lives is brought to the open.
On the other hand, there are those who are of the opinion that given the rate of lasciviousness and unbridled immorality associated with the Show, it is a Satanic device and strategy to infiltrate humanity, especially the Body of Christ as part of the grand agenda to usher in the Antichrist. Whichever School of Thought you belong, you are welcome, but let us take an objective look at the BBN without any atom of sentiments and try to fathom what it stands for.
The Big Brother Naija is not a Talent Hunt perse. Uptil now, no one can really say for sure the prerequisite for entry apart from the age limit or the basic objective of the Show. It is a gathering of young people of diverse backgrounds and different orientations made to stay in an isolated House fitted with dozens of High Tech Cameras and Microphones, recording their every move 24/7.
Every week, the Housemates are expected to vote and eject themselves out. While the votes of the viewing public is also being collated to eject Housemates not considered fit to be in the House; and the last Man or Woman Standing goes home with the grand prize and cash prize, which are always mouthwatering. As a result of the reward package, there have been stiff competitions for entry into the House whose application is free.
After the 2006 (Season 1,) the Show went into limbo. In that first attempt, the following were the Housemates: Ebuka Obi Uchendu, who later became the permanent Anchor Man, Ichemeta,Yinka, Chinedu,Joan, Maureen,Gideon,Helen, Joseph,Frank, Sandy, Ify, Francisca and Katung Aduwak who eventually won it. The cash Prize then was $100,000.
In 2017, the Show resurfaced and since then, it has been an annual event with this 2021 Edition being the Season 6. This year’s Edition has a young man called Hazel Oyeze Onou a.k.a. Whitemoney as the Winner, carting away a whopping grand prize of #90 million and cash prize of #30 million. He scored 47% of the vote cast,followed by Liquorose 22.99%, Pere14.77% Cross5.44% Angel 5.37% and Emmanuel 3.43%.
As can be seen, The BBN has been a huge blessing to Nigerian youth in terms of Financial and Career Empowerment. Former Winners like Efe, Mercy Eke, Laycon who ordinarily would not have amounted to anything in life, became Instant celebrities with huge endorsements from multinational companies and corporations. A lot of families have been lifted out of poverty as a result of BBN. So many Housemates that did not make it to the final also got gifts from viewers and supporters.
However it’s like the fame, applause and money seem to be all that is in it for the BBNAIJA. And the Bible warns, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his soul? Looking at the logo of the BBN and that of the Illuminati’s All Seeing Eyes, you’ll notice a striking similarity. This has given rise to questions on whether BBN is an appendage of the Illuminati? Is there a correlation between BBN and Illumunati?
The BBN has been described as a nonsensical Reality Show aimed at promoting immorality by agents of the devil and that all those watching the Show are being programmed to take on the attributes or vices which the devil will be so proud of, given the recent open Show of Shame in the BBN Show where a supposedly married woman with one kid by name Tega, was caught on camera making love to a fellow Housemate called Boma. What a disgrace! It was even Boma that spilled the bean when he told another Housemate that Tega’s private parts smell like fish! As at this moment, Tega, who is yet to reconcile with her husband after the show of shame, is reportedly one month pregnant and she has flaunted and admitted it. If this is not Satan at work, then what is it?
Having said this, this show could also be where people display uncommon sense of moral rectitude and get rewarded for it. A case in point that readily comes to mind was during this recently concluded Season 6 “Shine Your Eyes”. Along the line, one of the Housemates, Angel who is fond of walking around the House half naked, stood in front of Whitemoney and one other female Housemate, and pulled up her dress for them to see her nakedness. She wasn’t even putting on pant.
The shameful act was done in front of millions of Television and Online Viewers across the globe. Instead of Whitemoney to grin and take a good look, he deliberately looked away and made a joke of it saying, “Angel is a good Marketer. She’s marketing her stuff.” What a young man with strong values and sound morals.. It takes a lot of deep sense of responsibility and principled behaviour to withstand such temptation. And one can say that it is as a result of this and other sound qualities that the young man eventually won the ultimate Prize.
Needless to say Tega and Boma were evicted from the House the following week, which shows that the show is not in any way in support of irresponsible behaviour or any form of immorality. You come into the House and behave as natural as you can without any form of inhibition.
Since this is the case, I will declare that the show is a good one for youth development and empowerment and since there is no Standing Rule that you must go there and become irresponsible, I propose that we should let the show be. Let those who want to go there and disgrace themselves like Tega and Boma go, and let those like Whitemoney who want to bring accolades to their families also go. Afterall, it’s a free world and by the way, Nigeria is too boring and tragic a place to live. With shows like this, maybe we can use them as avenues to let off the steam. But this is my personal opinion, I want all of us to contribute to this topic. Your take on this subject is highly welcomed.
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